


plum rain

by littlesaintmick



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, Single Parents, the gravy train rolls NONSTOP tonight, yeah this is just two dads being cute and not admitting that they have a crush on each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-06 20:54:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16394912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: roman's daughter makes a friend, that friend has an exceptionally hot dad, teenagers are terrible. just awful.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i do hope everyone is enjoying the spam of new stories tonight. i'm personally barely holding it together, but, hey, at least i'm producing. (yes, the title is from a lush shower gel. i ran out of ideas :P)

Roman smiled as Bianca slid into the passenger seat, her single, long braid over one shoulder. 

“Hey, kid.”

“Hi, Dad. How was work?”

“Business as usual. How was school?”

“It was…..good.”

Roman started the car and raised an eyebrow, checking his mirrors before glancing at his daughter. 

“Sounds like there’s something to that.”

“Well...there’s a new girl at school, in my grade. She just moved here, I think.”

“And?”

Roman looked at Bianca again. She was checking something on her phone and twirling her braid around one finger, a habit she’d had since she started wearing her hair like that.

“I mean, not really anything else. She licked my face in biology class.”

Roman didn’t necessarily mean to slam the brakes as he did, but he wasn’t expecting….that.

“I’m sorry, did you say she licked you?”

Bianca shrugged. 

“Yeah. Was kinda funny, she’s a funny kid. Total weirdo.”

Her tone wasn’t judgemental-Roman raised his girl better than that-it was actually a little fond. Roman started driving again and shook his head.

“What’s her name?”

“Nikki Cross-Ambrose.”

“And you said she’s new?”

“It’s only a few weeks into the year, Dad, it’s not that unusual.”

Now  _ there _ was a tone. Roman rolled his eyes. Teenagers.

\---

Roman walked through the door, brushing a loose strand of hair behind his ear and hanging up his jacket. It was getting colder out quickly, and it would stay that way until early March, at least. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, listening to the sound of music blaring from Bianca’s room upstairs. He shook his head and pulled off his shoes, heading up to knock on her door. 

“Bibi! Turn that down a little! Gonna piss off the neighbors again.”

The music abruptly stopped, and Roman frowned. He hadn’t meant that she had to turn it off completely. There were two voices coming from behind the door before Bianca suddenly opened it. 

“Hi Dad before you say anything-”

Roman looked over Bianca’s head and saw a young girl with dark, long, somewhat-dirty looking hair, a bandaid on her face, curled up in the corner of Bianca’s bed. He sighed through his nose and looked at Bianca, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Who’s your friend?”

“Dad….that’s Nikki, the girl I’ve been telling you about.”

Bianca had been talking pretty constantly about Nikki over the past three weeks, having apparently decided that the girl would be her friend. And Roman knew very well that once Bianca decided on a path, that path would be taken. Roman looked over Bianca’s head again, waving and getting Nikki’s attention. She didn’t seem to want to look at him directly, and he didn’t know why, but he didn’t question it.

“Hey there.”   
“.....Hello.”

She had an odd accent, and spoke quietly. Roman frowned and looked back to his daughter.

“Bianca, I’d really like if you asked ‘fore bringing people over. That’s always been the rule.”

“I know, Dad, but-her cousin had to work late and couldn’t come get her and she lives way farther away than we do, was I supposed to just leave her there?”

Bianca’s stance mirrored Roman’s, arms crossed, back straight. Sometimes he wished she didn’t take so much after him, but he sighed, relaxing and rubbing at his closed eyes. 

“Okay, okay. I’m not mad, just-text me or something next time. You guys need anything?”

“I think we’re good.”

“Okay. Does her-cousin, I guess, know she’s here?”

“She called him earlier. He’s gonna come pick her up at nine-thirty.”

“Alright. Let me know if you guys need anything, I’m gonna start dinner.”

Roman grinned and kissed the top of his daughter’s head, Bianca accepting it with only a minor eye-roll. He headed back downstairs, thinking about Nikki. She seemed shy, and he wondered about the bandaid on her face, and this cousin she had. He assumed maybe that was her caretaker, and he hoped she was being taken care of well. Roman frowned. He shouldn’t dwell on assumptions, at least for now. He pulled his hair out of the tie it was in before putting it back up in a loose bun, finding ingredients for dinner after texting Bianca to ask what Nikki liked.

He’d at least be a good host.

\---

Roman was getting more and more used to Nikki just...appearing in his house. He didn't mind, honestly. She was a great kid, if a little odd. But odd was far from bad, and Nikki had really opened up over the past month. Though Roman was still worried about her and her home life; he had yet to meet her cousin, who always came and picked her up fairly late, and she constantly had bruises and bandages on her arms and face. But her attitude didn't have any of the usual tells of someone who'd been abused, and Roman had enough experience with victims of abuse to know. Nikki really was just a positive, weird young lady.

Roman was working his way through grading papers, sitting on the couch, when he heard a crash from outside. He knew the girls had been out there, and he ran outside to see Bianca kneeling next to Nikki, who had-from what Roman could immediately tell-fallen off of the roof. He easily slid on his knees next to her, looking to Bianca.

“What happened?”

“Nik was climbing on the roof and slipped.”

“Why did you let her get on the roof?!”

Bianca shrugged, seemingly unworried.

“She does this all the time at school. And she falls. A lot.”

Roman huffed and turned his attention to Nikki, helping her sit up and checking the back of her head and her arms and legs for any immediate injuries. She just laughed and grinned, flopping back on the ground once Roman sat back.

“Nikki, I'm gonna call your cousin. Even if this happens often, I'm not comfortable with not letting him know about this.”

Nikki handed him her phone and he found her contact list-he at least knew her cousin was named Dean-and dialed. The answer came after a few rings.

“Hey Nik! How are you, thought you were at your friend's house-”

“Hello, is this Dean Ambrose?”

There was a pause for a few seconds.

“Yeah, and who's the grown ass man calling from my teenage cousin's phone?”

Roman couldn't blame the aggressive tone. He'd be freaked out if some random guy called him from Bianca's phone. 

“My name is Roman Reigns, I'm Bianca's father. Nikki is at my house and-I guess she tried to climb onto the roof-she had a fall and from what I can tell, nothing is broken-I am so, so sorry, I should've been watching them closer, she’s not hurt but-”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down-if nothing's broke or bleeding, it'll be fine. Nikki's not always graceful, this happens every now and then.”

“Yeah, Bianca...mentioned that.”

“Listen dude, I know it can be scary the first time it happens. I'll come get her, check in on her. Thank you for calling me.”

“No problem. We'll see you soon.” 

Roman hung up and helped Nikki stand, making sure she wasn't off-balance as they walked back into the house. She sprawled on the couch, Bianca situating Nikki's legs across her lap while Roman anxiously waited for Dean. He did feel terrible; even if Nikki was okay, he still felt irresponsible as hell for letting her get hurt while on his watch. He worked hard to be a good parent and overall a good adult. He just hoped this wouldn't make it so that Dean wouldn't let Nikki hang out with Bianca; Roman had never seen his daughter take to someone so quickly or so intently, and he knew that Bianca spent most of her school day with Nikki. It was good, to see her bond with someone like that.

Roman watched as Nikki ran out of the house-still not very gracefully-as they all heard the sound of her cousin’s truck pulling up. Roman and Bianca shared a look and followed out the door, seeing Nikki happily jump onto her cousin. Dean caught her, fairly easily, and patted her on the head.

“Hey bug. You fall off another house?”

Nikki hopped down and sat on the ground, grinning up at Dean. 

“Yeah. Not the highest point, weren’t even on there for long.”

Roman watched as Dean kneeled in front of Nikki, pulling out a small penlight and checking her pupils, having her do a few things like following his fingers as he moved them in front of her face. 

“What’s two hundred and forty times nine?”

Nikki thought for a few minutes, while Dean checked her over more.

“Two thousand, one hundred and sixty.”

Dean ruffled her hair and smiled.

“Good job. Looks like you’re gonna be okay, bug, but-hey, listen, no climbing on shit like that unless an adult is watching you, okay? You really freaked Mister Reigns out.”

Nikki’s eyes went wide and she stared up at Roman.

“I’m sorry!”

Roman had to smile at the genuinely apologetic and anxious exclamation, and he laughed a little.

“It’s okay, I’m just happy you’re not hurt.”

Dean looked at Roman, too, as he stood, and Roman felt his face flush. Dean was….not what Roman had expected. He was fairly young, at least as far as Roman could tell, and he was tall, thick muscle everywhere but his tiny waist, everything under tight, well-worn clothes, curly reddish-blond hair sticking out from under a trucker cap. He held his hand out to Roman, and Roman took it, blushing even deeper at the feeling of rough calluses on his palm.

“Thank you for calling and not just like, taking her to the hospital. That wouldn’t have gone well.”

“Not a fan of them?”

“Neither of us are.”

Roman squeezed Dean’s hand once more and pulled his hand away. Nikki jumped onto Dean’s back, seemingly trying to climb her cousin. 

“Uh-it was no problem, I just didn’t feel comfortable not letting you know about it.”

Dean smiled at him, this sweet, gentle little smile, and Roman ducked his head down.

“Uh-if you like, since-you’re both here, if you wanted to stay for dinner, you could.”

Nikki had made her way to sitting on Dean’s shoulders, and Roman realized she was probably using him as a ladder to get to a higher branch on the tree in the front yard. Bianca was quietly giggling next to Roman, before Nikki leaned down to look at Dean.

“We should stay, Mister Reigns always makes really good food-”

Dean looked up at her before lifting her off of his shoulders and setting her on the ground-Nikki wasn’t very large in any way, but it still showed off Dean’s strength in a way Roman tried to ignore-and he patted her on the head again, taking his hat off and placing it on her head.

“Well, if it really is alright with Mister Reigns, I don’t see a reason not to. Go on, go play with your friend. No climbing on shit for the rest of the day, okay, bug?”

Nikki hugged him before grabbing Bianca’s hand and running with her back into the house. Dean watched them, smiling, and Roman cleared his throat.

“So-the bruises and bandaids-all of that’s from her falling and things like that?”

Dean glanced at him, and Roman could tell he knew what Roman was really asking.

“Yeah. I appreciate the concern, but trust me-I’d rather be dead than be the one to hurt that kid.”

“Just wanted to make sure.”

“Not mad, I understand. If Nik was bringing someone around our house who looked like she usually does, I’d be concerned, too. She at least falls less than she used to.”

Roman led Dean into the house, the two of them heading to the kitchen. 

“Want something to drink?”

“Water’d be nice. I’m happy to finally meet you, Reigns. Been meaning to, but work’s been...kinda killing me lately.”

Roman got Dean a glass of water and handed it to him, swallowing at the slight scent of sweat and body wash on Dean’s skin. 

“I figured something like that, with how late you usually come get her. What do you do, if you don’t mind?”

“I don't. I work at the docks, loading and unloading shit. Been working overtime the past few weeks, ever since we settled in here.”

“Sounds hard.”

Dean shrugged, leaning against the wall.

“Can be. What about you?”

“I’m a teacher. Well, I guess I’m supposed to say ‘professor’, since I work at a college, but that sounds so douchey to me.”

Dean snorted and laughed, and Roman was  _ very _ enamored by the dimples in his cheeks. 

“What do you teach, exactly?”

“Just stuff about civil and human rights. Been a bit of a rollercoaster this year, what with...you know, who our president is and all that.”

“God, I can imagine. Gotta be a nightmare getting supporters of his in your class.”

Roman felt an intense sense of relief wash over him as he smiled. 

“Yeah. It really is. Uh-what do you like to eat? For dinner, I mean. We could order something, if you wanted-”

“It’s up to you, Professor.”

Roman stared at Dean for a long minute, and Dean just grinned, clearly happy to poke a little fun at Roman. It didn’t bother him, at all. He already was really enjoying Dean’s presence, and he looked through his fridge. 

“Hmm...can you eat pork? Any dietary restrictions or allergies?”

“Pineapples, other than that, nothing.”

Roman started pulling out ingredients for pork tacos, quickly tying his hair into a loose bun. 

“Hey, you want some help? Feels weird sitting on my ass while you do all the work.”

Roman bit his lip and nodded over at a cabinet.

“Grab me some spices? Wash your hands first.”

“Yes, sir, Professor.”

Roman laughed under his breath and shook his head, telling Dean what to pull out, and they kept talking about other things as they worked together. Dean was, as Roman found out, Nikki’s guardian, and he had been going to an arts-based college before leaving to take care of Nikki. He didn’t go into much detail over how that happened, but Roman wasn’t going to press. They only just met, after all. Roman did happily tell Dean about his own life, how he came to teach political science courses, a little about his family. It went so smoothly and easily, Roman and Dean immediately clicking and working together in the kitchen. Roman loved cooking with others, and he hadn’t gotten to in a long while. This was a nice change, and he was almost disappointed when it was done and they’d gotten everything set up in the dining room. 

“Bianca!”

“Nikki!”

The girls came running down the stairs, Nikki happily clinging to Bianca’s arm and blinking wide eyes at the two of them. Roman leaned against the wall and watched as Bianca and Nikki both got their food, Bianca encouraging her friend to take plenty. Roman knew his daughter definitely inherited his appetite, and he blushed when he noticed Dean looking at him with an odd, but sweet look on his face, his dimples once again present.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just sweet of you to sit back and let the kids eat first.”

Roman shrugged, Dean standing next to him. Not close enough to be in his space, but close enough that Roman almost wished he was.

“Just...always done it. Guess it feels more important for them to first.”

Dean hummed, watching as Bianca led Nikki back upstairs. Roman felt very fond, already, of the look Dean got when he was around his cousin. Roman felt bad for ever doubting Dean’s ability or intention as a caretaker, as he clearly cared about and loved his cousin with all his heart. Dean didn’t hesitate to pile his own plate full before following Roman into the living room. 

“What do you like to watch?”

“Anything. Oh-but...not really anything scary, if that’s cool.”   
“Absolutely. Not a fan of horror myself, except a few things. Think there’s a football game on, if you’re a sports fan.”

Dean grinned. 

“Bengals, ride or die. You have a team?”

“Hmm...I’d have to think on that, honestly. More of a college football guy, you know?”

“Well, what’s your college pick?”

“Georgia Tech, hands down. Gotta root for the alma mater. Uh..you didn’t mention where you were going, earlier?”

Roman took a huge bite and noticed Dean blushing. He brushed a red curl behind his ear and cleared his throat.

“Uh...Rhode Island School of Design, actually. Was going for a bachelor’s in industrial design.”

Roman coughed and had to work to swallow the food in his throat, staring at Dean.

“Wait-Rhode Island? Isn’t that….like, one of the best art schools in the world? Private and small and everything?”

“I mean. Yeah, but-I’da been happy anywhere, they were just the first ones to say yes.”

“That’s….really impressive, Dean. You must be a hell of an artist.”

Dean looked embarrassed at that, and he shoved as much of a taco as he could get into his mouth. It was cute, really, Roman covered his mouth to hide the quiet giggle that escaped. 

The night went on easily and Roman honestly didn’t realize that it was eleven until Dean checked his phone and cursed. 

“Shit, sorry, didn’t mean-sorry about the language, but I gotta get Nik home, I forgot I had some shit to fill out for work-”

“Oh-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, it’s-it’s on me, Roman, it’s cool. Uh. It...actually, I mean. Tonight was...really, really nice.”

Roman and Dean both stood, staring at each other, Roman feeling his cheeks flush. 

“Yeah-I-I really liked having you over, you and Nikki are welcome whenever.”

Dean smiled, and ducked his head down, and they just stood in a very comfortable silence for a moment.

“Sorry I can’t stick around to help with dishes.”   
“It’s cool, Dean. You can help next time.”

Dean gave him a look that Roman tried not to decipher, and he nodded.

“Yeah, I like the sound of that.”

Roman walked with Dean to the front door, Dean calling for Nikki to come down. She looked a little tired, slowly blinking and leaning on Dean the first chance she got. He just smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

“C’mon, bug. Gotta head home, you need some rest.”

Nikki nodded but reached out and poked Roman’s stomach.

“Thank you, Mister Reigns.”

“No problem, kid. Don’t go falling off any more roofs.”

Nikki had just a hint of mischief in her eyes. Roman knew he’d hear about her climbing onto something by the time he got home tomorrow. Bianca hugged Nikki and she and Roman watched as Dean led Nikki out to the truck. Roman waved at them one last time before they drove off, and he sighed, feeling oddly light.

“So you totally like him.”

Roman made a face, snorting.

“What? No. No I don’t.”

“Dad, come on. You were making eyes at him.”

“No I-go to your room.”

Bianca grinned, poking his arm.

“Yo-oo-ou liiiiike him-”

“Go to your room, you’re-totally grounded-”

She continued on in a sing-song tone and Roman groaned, grabbing her shoulders and leading her to the stairs. 

“Go! Bad child. Awful, terrible teenager.”

Bianca laughed and ran up the stairs, Roman shaking his head. He didn’t like Dean, not like that, at least. Yet. He started cleaning up from dinner, biting his lip at the thought of the redhead. 

Maybe Bianca had a point.

\---

Roman shifted in bed, blinking up at the ceiling, at the lights that came in through the window and shined on his wall. All he could think about was Dean. 

They’d had dinner with Nikki and Bianca five times in total, four of those times had been spent cooking together, the other night they’d ordered a truly unhealthy amount of pizza, all four of them stuffing themselves silly while watching cartoons. Roman hadn’t felt that good in years, especially not with someone. Someone who was incredibly sweet, and smart, and kind and cute. 

And unbearably hot. 

Every time Dean came over, he’d be wearing what he wore to work, his clothes stained with a little bit of sweat, smelling like hard work. Roman bit his lip, imagining Dean walking into the house while Roman was the only one there, his clothes work-dirty like usual. But instead of just cooking and talking, the Dean in his head cornered Roman against the wall, the scent of his sweat strong, making Roman feel a little dizzy with arousal. Roman reached under his blanket, groping himself through his sleep pants. He hadn’t been with someone in over a year-the last person he’d slept with had been a one-night stand, and a disappointing one at that, so he settled for his hand and his toys. 

Roman shut his eyes tight and stroked his cock, exhaling quietly and thinking about Dean, about his thick, strong arms, his mesmerizingly tiny waist. God. It was the perfect size for Roman to wrap his arms around, and his legs were long, he was just...the sexiest man Roman had ever seen. Roman wondered what he was packing under those dark jeans, and he was practically drooling at the thought of seeing Dean’s cock. Whatever he had, Roman wanted to get his mouth on it, he wanted to suck Dean off until he was coming down Roman’s throat, on Roman’s face. 

Roman whimpered, pushing his pants down to free his cock. He absolutely loved having come on his face, and the thought of Dean standing above him, how his face would look when he covered Roman’s face in come, it drove Roman to wrap his fingers around his cock, pumping himself quickly, thrusting his hips up into his hand.

He panted, trying to keep himself quiet. He brought his other hand up to cover his mouth, moaning behind it, stroking himself harder. He thought about sniffing Dean’s dirty clothes, getting smothered in that scent, and he felt the muscles in his thighs and abdomen tighten before he came, shooting over his hand. His hips weakly jerked up, his cock pulsing in his hand. Roman brought his hand up, his face flushing even more as he licked it clean. He wished he was licking up Dean’s come, that Dean was in his bed with him. 

“Shit.”

Roman sat up, heading to the bathroom to clean up properly. He looked at himself in the mirror, at the slight flush on his cheeks, his messy hair. He hadn’t lost sleep over a person since before Bianca was born, but here he was, thinking about Dean and unable to sleep. Roman really couldn’t help it, Dean was just….amazing. Roman got back into bed, a little more relaxed now that he’d had an orgasm. An orgasm thinking about Dean. He rolled onto his side, frowning. 

“Shit.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dean and roman spend some time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. this is an exceptionally short chapter for my usual word count, but i'm thinking maybe that's what i'll start doing, at least for this and a few other stories i have going. like, shorter chapters-in theory-might lead to more updates, since i'm not trying to pack in as much as possible in each chapter. i'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on that plan, like, do you like shorter chapters as much as longer ones? should i keep doing as i usually do? 
> 
> anywho, enjoy!

“Oh, come on, these asshole can’t pass for shit and still-”

Dean laughed at him, and Roman blushed a little at the reaction. Nikki had wanted to come over, and Dean had stuck around after Roman mentioned that he was gonna watch a game that was on. And Roman...was having the time of his life. Dean was quickly turning into his favorite person to be around, his favorite person to hang out with. It only helped that Dean had Nikki, and Nikki made Bianca happy, and Roman would do whatever he could to make sure Bianca stayed happy. 

It all really worked out. 

Dean caught his breath and leaned back against the couch, smiling at Roman. It was soft and fond, and Roman could only keep his gaze for so long before feeling an unfamiliar warmth in his core.

“You got plans next Friday, by any chance?”

Roman blinked. 

“Oh..uh...no, I don’t think so? Other than grading, but that’s every night for me.”

Dean grinned.   
“Exciting.”

“Shut up. Why ask?”

Dean groaned, deflating and pouting. 

“My friend invited me to go to this party he’s hosting, and...I really don’t wanna go, but I know I gotta, but I figure I can at least try to not go alone. You’d make it bearable.”

Roman tried not to let it show in his voice what that made him think.

“Not a fan of parties?”

“I mean...I’m not...not a fan of parties, but-”

Dean looked away from him, and Roman felt the mood shift. He turned the volume on the tv down, turning his body more towards Dean.

“Dean?”

Dean swallowed and rubbed at his arm. 

“I-I do want you to come with me cause you’re my friend, but...there’s gonna be alcohol there, and-if I go by myself, I’m probably gonna drink, and historically, that doesn’t...end well for me.”

Roman’s eyes widened and he inhaled. 

“Oh..”

“I don’t-I ain’t asking you to like-be my keeper or shit like that, I just-”

“No, I don’t-I didn’t think that. It sounds like you know that you cope better around a trigger like that with someone close to you when you’re near it, and-I’d-yeah, I’d love to go with you.”

Dean glanced at him, obviously a little nervous.

“You-yeah?”

Roman nodded, smiling at Dean and reaching over, quickly squeezing his knee. 

“Yeah, Dean.”

Roman didn’t miss the blush coloring Dean’s cheeks, and he pulled away, reaching up and brushing his hair behind his ear. Dean was biting his lip and they sat in silence for a few moments, both of them very aware of the excited energy now in the room. 

\---

Bianca kicked her feet in the air and Roman huffed, staring into his closet.

“So you’re still gonna act like you don’t have a crush on him?”

Roman turned and stared at his daughter, his face flat. 

“Go away, awful child.”

Bianca grinned, absolutely not leaving, and Roman sighed, turning back to his closet. He was trying to pick something to wear to this party-Dean had said it wasn’t anything fancy, but Roman didn’t want to dress down too much, because he didn’t want Dean to think that he didn’t take it seriously, but should he project that he took it really seriously with his outfit? This was hard. Roman frowned.

“He’s gonna give you that look no matter what you wear.”

“What look?”

Bianca sighed, coming over to the closet to stand next to him. She started searching through his clothes, tossing things at him as she picked them. 

“You know, the look. The one that makes him look like he’s in love with you.”

Roman rolled his eyes, but laid out the clothes Bianca had picked out-nice dark jeans, a black dress shirt, his gold chain and watch-and nodded approvingly. 

“Not bad, kid.”

“I know.”

Her confidence truly was unwavering. Roman patted her head.

“Thank you, Bibi. Now go, I gotta get ready. And I need you to make sure the house is respectable, it’s Nikki’s first time spending the night.”

Bianca sighed rather dramatically but left, and Roman rolled his eyes again. His child was ridiculous sometimes, but he loved her. He quickly dressed and put his hair into a bun, putting on a little bit of a solid perfume that he liked-it smelled like coffee and spice and a little bit of pumpkin and was perfect for the season. He went into his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. 

He looked...pretty good. The shirt was a little tight around the middle, but it wasn’t unattractive, he rather liked the way it hugged him, as did the jeans. Roman did try to ignore why it mattered if he looked attractive tonight, the sound of a knock on the door and the door opening shocking him out of his own head. Roman went to the door and his eyes went wide at the sight of Dean, who looked...amazing. A nice leather jacket on top of a white button up (the top few buttons of which were undone, showing off the material of a white tank top and chest hair under that), blue jeans-clean ones, unlike what Dean usually wore-and his usual boots. His hair was actually brushed and Roman bit his lip as he stood in front of him.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

Dean looked him up and down, smiling. 

“You look amazing.”   
“Not too bad yourself, Deano.”

That got a laugh from the redhead and Roman blushed. He turned to Bianca and Nikki. 

“Okay, call me immediately if something happens, call 911 if it’s a medical emergency, and-”

“We know, Dad. Go party like it’s nineteen-ninety-nine. You know, when you were young and cool.”

Roman pouted.

“Hey! I’m still young and-I’m still cool-go hang out with your friend, you little terror.”

“We’ll be back in a few hours.”

Roman kissed Bianca on the top of the head, and Dean did the same with Nikki before they left, Roman climbing in the passenger seat of Dean’s truck. The heat was on and it felt very cozy, in the bucket seat, only a foot away from Dean. 

“So tell me about this friend.”

“His name’s Jeff-he’s a great guy, total sweetheart, kinda weird. We met in college and I found out he lived here not too long before I moved.”

“He an artist?”

Dean laughed. 

“Yeah, yeah, probably-there’s probably never been a person in the whole freakin’ world who matches that word better. Like-when we were in college, there was one time where he like, in the middle of the night, erected these fuckin’-I don’t even know what to call them, they were like plywood symbols or statues or something-and everyone woke up and came to school and saw them and lost their fuckin’ minds-”

Roman watched Dean as he drove and told the story, laughing and fidgeting with his watch a little. 

“Figured people at an art school would be-used to that, I guess?”

“You’d think, but they can be real tightasses-”

The drive took a while, but Roman didn’t mind. He liked sitting in the warm truck with Dean, talking and trading stories. Roman felt like he wasn’t nearly as fun as Dean, but Dean had had to pull over once to laugh when Roman told him about the time he and his Bulgarian friend had to run from the cops. 

Dean’s friend’s house was nice, and he happily followed Dean to the front door. Roman could hear music coming from inside and the door swung open, Roman blinking at the sight of a man with brightly colored hair and a painted face. 

“Dean!”

“My brother! What’s up!”

Dean and-Roman had to assume that this was Jeff, hugged tight, Jeff pulling away and smiling. Even with the face paint on, he had a stunner of a smile. He glanced at Roman and held his hand out.

“Hi, I’m Jeff Hardy.”

“Roman Reigns.”   
“Roman’s my friend, thought I’d bring him with me, show him the enigma in person.”

Jeff rolled his eyes, but smiled and let them inside.

“It’s just me tonight, Dean. Willow was here not too long ago, though.”

Roman had no idea what they were talking about, but he was happy just to follow them inside-the inside of the house was spacious and open and packed full of people. 

“Deadman here?”

“Yeah, he’s probably off taking bets about something.”

“Deadman?”

Jeff smiled at Roman, brushing his bright blue hair behind his ear. 

“My husband. Everyone calls him that.”

Jeff went off to go do-something, Roman wasn’t sure, but he knew from whoever called out to Jeff that it involved spray paint. He belatedly noticed that the floors were covered in a plastic tarp, and the rooms seemed more open because all of the furniture had been moved out. Roman followed Dean to the kitchen and saw him tense at the bottles of alcohol on the counter. Roman reached out and gripped Dean’s hand, squeezing it for a second.

“It’s okay, Dean.”

Dean took a deep breath and nodded before quickly grabbing bottles of water out of the fridge, leading Roman by the hand back out of the kitchen. Roman hadn’t pressed for Dean’s history with alcohol, as it was Dean’s decision how much Roman knew about that, but he wanted to be there for him nonetheless. He and Dean went out to the backyard, taking two seats around a large fire pit, where others were gathered. Roman looked around the yard-there were people dancing, people painting, someone grilling something that looked like a tire. It definitely was a tire. 

“Who’s tall, dark, and handsome, Deano?”

A young lady with pink hair sitting across from them-sitting across the laps of two other ladies-asked, and Roman blushed. 

“This is Roman, he’s a friend of mine.”

“Is he single?”

Roman didn’t see who asked amongst the crowd, but he did see Dean’s expression turn...maybe a little annoyed? He was about to open his mouth when someone jumped out of a nearby tree, landing gracefully and standing in front of the fire. Most of his body was intricately painted, his legs bare as he was wearing nothing but shorts. 

“It’s rude to ask if someone’s date is single.”

Roman blushed much harder at that, even as he was distracted by the young man. He was very attractive, and had a bright, lovely smile. 

“Hey, Finn.”

Finn smiled and came over to Dean, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and squeezing him, kissing him on the cheek. Some of his body paint came off on Dean’s face and Dean reached up, ruffling Finn’s hair.

“Where’s your man?”

“Right here.”

Roman watched as another man joined them, handing a drink to Finn.

“Here you go, babe. Shannon mixed it just the way you like it.”

Finn and the other man kissed, and they sat around the fire, on Dean’s other side. The other man-he was handsome, too, goddamn-smiled at Roman.

“Hey, I’m Seth, you must be Roman.”   
“Yeah, I’m-it’s nice to meet both of you.”

Finn snuggled up close to Seth and sipped at his drink. 

“Dean’s talked about you for a while, he told us your daughter is friends with Nikki?”

“Yeah, they go to school together and really hit it off.”

“Aw, good. Nikki needs more friends.”

The conversation continued, bouncing around topics brought up by anyone who happened to be around the fire at any time. At one point, Dean scooted closer, and Roman wrapped an arm around his shoulders without thinking, squeezing him. It was nice. Everyone was fun to talk to and pleasant, though Finn ran off to go join the dancers at one point, Seth watching him fondly as he did. 

“He sure does have fun when he’s possessed.”

“Possessed?”

Dean grinned and Seth shook his head, that fond look still on his face. 

“It’s a long story. He just likes the freedom it gives him.”

Roman shrugged and kept his arm around Dean, talking with Seth about football and their jobs. Evidently he and Finn were new parents, and this was the first night they’d had to themselves in a while. Roman noticed that Dean’s water was empty, and he squeezed him again.

“Hey, want me to get you another?”

Dean nodded and Roman went back into the house, almost running into a...very, very large man in the kitchen. Roman looked up at him-it was rare for Roman to have to look up at anyone-and stepped back a little. 

“Sorry, didn’t look where I was going-”

“‘s fine. Who’re you?”

“Roman Reigns. I’m-I came with Dean Ambrose, he knows Jeff-”

The man’s eyebrows went up just a bit, and he nodded.    
“Oh, yeah, you. I’ve heard about you.”

Dean apparently talked about him a lot more than Roman would have anticipated. The man held his hand out and Roman took it. 

“My name’s Mark. Everyone calls me Deadman, feel free to.”

Roman nodded. So this was Jeff’s husband. From their looks-Jeff’s free-spirit-slash-goth thing and Mark’s biker clothing-they seemed like an odd couple, but Roman had seen quite a few of those tonight. He grabbed another bottle of water after Mark had left-someone had said something about someone knocking a hole in the wall, this really was a rambunctious crowd-and he went back to the fire pit. Dean was right where he’d left him, and Roman handed him the water. 

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Having fun?”

Dean smiled at him and nodded, moving close to Roman. He desperately wanted to put his arm around Dean’s waist, it was the perfect size for him to do so, but he didn’t want to push it. Roman was introduced to a few more people, all of them joining the conversation and leaving at random. Jeff ran over to them, grinning, and he grabbed Roman’s arm.

“Roman! Do you wanna come throw paint with us?”

Roman blinked and looked to Dean. He smiled and shrugged, and Roman followed Jeff into the house, Dean right behind them. They went into a room that had been entirely covered in plastic tarp, with canvases hung on the walls. Roman took his shirt off, and he wondered if the look Dean gave him was appreciative-Roman had worn a tank top underneath the dress shirt, and he hoped he looked at least half-decent, still. He was certainly appreciating Dean’s shirtlessness-he stripped his jacket and both shirts off, his muscular chest fully bared. Jeff handed him and Dean goggles, and they each put them on, Roman trying not to be too distracted.

“Deadman! Can you bring the paint in here, babe?”

Mark came in, hauling buckets of water balloons that Roman assumed were filled with paint. There were a few other people in the room with them and Dean grabbed a balloon. 

“C’mon y’all, don’t be shy! Get to it!”

Roman grabbed one too, and he and Dean looked at each other and grinned before throwing it at the same canvas. Roman had never done anything like this, but he had to admit that it was really fun and surprisingly satisfying. He and Dean mostly worked together, and Roman liked that he couldn’t tell what colors were inside each balloon. It made it a surprise, and Roman took a second to step back, looking at all of the canvases. They were almost fully splattered with paint, of all sorts of colors, and Roman hadn’t noticed how much he’d been grinning. His cheeks hurt a little, and he laughed, laughing still when Dean stood next to him and wrapped his arms around Roman’s waist. It was comfortable and soft and he felt very happy, standing with Dean, surrounded by all this color and light. 

“You wanna get out of here? Go get something to eat?”

Roman nodded and they grabbed their shirts, Dean leading him around and saying goodbye to various people. Seth and Roman traded numbers, and Roman actually did with a few people-he really enjoyed a lot of the people he’d met, and he was happy to make new friends. Finn even hugged him, and Jeff did, too.

“Thank you both for coming, I loved having you here. We should all go out to dinner sometime, you two and me and Mark.”

“I’d really like that.”

“See you later, man.”

Dean and Jeff hugged one more time before they left back to Dean’s truck. Roman climbed in again, still a little breathless and sore from laughing and smiling so much. He was tired, but in the pleasant sort of way, and he smiled at Dean as they drove away. 

“I had a really good time with your friends.”

“I’m happy you came with me. Felt like-”

Roman glanced at Dean. 

“It felt right.”

Roman ducked his head down, brushing his hair back. It had come loose during the painting, and he hadn’t fixed it yet. He pulled it out of the band that held it and let it lay loose, leaning back against the seat and sighing. They were mostly silent until Dean pulled into the drive-thru of a fast food place, ordering-Dean insisting on paying-and stopping in the parking lot to eat. Dean kept the truck on, the heater and radio going. 

“I am really happy you had a good time. I know my friends can be...kinda weird, you know?”

“I liked them. I am-you’ve only lived here for a little while, right? You have a lot of friends for only being here, what, two and a half months?”

Dean grinned at him.

“I know, I’m so terrible to be around, how did I convince all these people to bear it.”

Roman shook his head.

“Shut up, that’s not what I meant.”

“I know, I know. I guess-I mean, I met Seth and Finn right when I got here-they were having trouble with their kid at the store and I helped ‘em calm him down-like I said, Jeff just happened to live here, and I kinda met everyone else through them. Like I was saying, I don’t...dislike people, I just-sometimes social shit like that can be hard.”

Roman finished chewing what had been in his mouth as Dean talked, swallowing and looking at Dean. He bit his lip, taking a deep breath.

“Well...whenever you have something like this-whenever you need someone to come with you to stuff, you can...you know, ask me.”

Dean looked over at him, smiling, his cheeks flushed pink, and Roman exhaled quietly. The cab of the truck suddenly felt both too big and too small, and Roman wanted to be a lot closer to Dean. 

“I know.” 

Roman reached up with both hands and started stroking them over his hair, pulling it all to rest over one shoulder. Dean was still looking at him with soft, stormy blue eyes, and he licked his lips.

“Uh-should probably get you home, check on the kids.”

Roman nodded, and Dean drove him back to the house, the silence between them still comfortable and content. They both went inside-Dean wanted to check on Nikki-and Roman knocked on Bianca’s door. 

“Come in!”

Roman opened the door to see Bianca and Nikki cuddled on the bed, Nikki holding what looked like a dog’s chew toy. He confirmed that thought when she squeezed it and it squeaked. Dean went over to the bed and Nikki hugged him immediately. Dean just laughed and held her, kissing the top of her head.

“Hey bug. You having fun?”

“Yeah! We’ve been watching movies.”

“Cool. Didn’t get hurt at all, did you?”

Nikki shook her head. 

“Don’t worry, Mister Ambrose, I kept her safe.”

Nikki grinned and Bianca smiled at her, and Roman raised an eyebrow at that. He wondered if there was something other than friendship brewing between the two girls. 

Good for them. 

“Thanks, Bianca. I’m happy she has a friend like you.”

“I’m happy my dad has a friend like  _ you _ .”

Roman blushed and Dean glanced at him, before hugging Nikki. He kissed her hair again, taking a moment just to hold her, before standing. He ruffled her hair and fist-bumped Bianca.

“Alright, bug. I’ll pick you up tomorrow, alright? Call me whenever.”

“I love you, Dean.”

“I love you, too.”

Roman said good night to the girls and walked Dean to his truck. He shoved his hands in his pockets and bit his lip, his head ducked down. 

“Roman-”

“You should come over for dinner tomorrow. Uh-when you come to pick Nikki up, just-yeah. If you want.”

Dean smiled and Roman wanted so badly to kiss at his dimples. 

“Yeah, I’d like that. Uh-yeah. Yeah, I’ll-I’ll see you tomorrow, Rome. I-thank you again.”

“Thank you, I haven’t had that much fun in...forever, honestly. I-yeah.”

Dean looked at him for a long moment before he wrapped his arms around Roman, moving quickly, squeezing him tight. Roman only waited a half of a second before hugging him back, the two of them holding each other in silence for a minute. Roman took the opportunity to press his nose against Dean’s hair and inhale, warmth surging through him. Dean pulled away, his face bright red. 

“Sorry-I-just wanted to-”

“No, it’s okay, I-it’s okay.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Roman.”

“See you then, Dean.”

Dean got in his truck and drove off, and Roman stood, watching, closing his eyes and savoring the lingering scent of Dean on him, in the midst of the cool, crisp night air. 


End file.
